I've been meaning to post this essay for a long time and simply haven't found the tuits. Tonight I decided to post it, (finally!), both here and on my website.

Are you a blogger? Before you answer no, consider this:

...There has been plenty of buzz around blogging over the past two years but, as some observers have pointed out, blogging is just writing that's shared with others using software that makes it all very easy.
...

"Most Americans do not know what their strengths are. When you ask them, they look at you with a blank stare, or they respond in terms of subject knowledge, which is the wrong answer."

--Peter Drucker

If you ask them about their weaknesses, most people will probably respond quickly. They've had plenty of practice with this question.

One of the most common (and most dreaded) questions in job interviews is "What are your weaknesses?" The question is so common that "How to Interview" books devote pages to ideas for how best to answer the question (hint: honesty is not the best policy).

What Were They Thinking?!

On February 8, 2006, a new regulation took effect in California which prohibits disposing of so-called "Universal Waste" in the trash or landfill. Universal Waste is defined as waste which can harm human health or the environment if disposed of improperly. This includes consumer batteries, electronic waste such as computers, calculators, telephones (???), and mercury-containing wastes (fluorescent tubes and thermostats). It probably includes smoke alarms, too, but, they aren't mentioned.

Calling this stuff "Universal Waste" (as opposed to, say, "Hazardous Household Waste", for instance) is weird and not particularly accurate — who thought up that name? Still, it's a good idea not to throw this stuff in the landfill or put it out with the trash.

That's the good news.
The bad news is the way our local municipality has reacted to the new regulation.

[This essay has been hanging about since February, waiting for the Chronicle to publish their article. It's beginning to look like that isn't going to happen. So... here we go.]

I am a member of the San Francisco Chronicle's Two Cents program (a pool of people who agree to be accessible to The Chronicle via e-mail to provide commentary on the news of the day and share their expertise and experiences).
I receieved this note in the mail:

Greetings.

Our Reporter would like to hear from people who think they
or their children might be "computer addicts'' — people who spend between 6
and 10 hours a day on their computers, Internet or otherwise (chatting,
browsing, gaming, shopping, etc.), not because of their work but because
they find it difficult to disconnect.

If you can help with this story — or if you know someone who can — please
send me a brief e-mail that tells how much time you spend each day on the
Internet and whether you consider it a problem. If it is a problem for you,
have you done anything or are you planning to do anything to scale back?

Following a promising interview a couple of months ago, I was disappointed to be told the Company would be moving forward with another candidate. However, I decided to ask for feedback from the interview in an attempt to turn a disappointing loss into a learning experience.

I was unprepared for the response I received. I was also surprised (and confused).

Well over ten years ago, I took a programming course given by my then-company. Each student was seated in front of a computer. To our surprise, these computers were on the company network! This made it simple to check email, etc. during the class (while otherwise ignoring the class itself)

Welcome to Cubeville

If you work in an "office environment", chances are you've worked in a cubicle, in a warren of cubicles, as far as the eye can see.

Robert Oppenheimer agonized over building the A-bomb. Alfred Nobel got queasy about creating dynamite. Robert Propst invented nothing so destructive. Yet before he died in 2000, he lamented his unwitting contribution to what he called "monolithic insanity."

Propst is the father of the cubicle. More than 30 years after he unleashed it on the world, we are still trying to get out of the box. The cubicle has been called many things in its long and terrible reign. But what it has lacked in beauty and amenity, it has made up for in crabgrass-like persistence.
...
Reviled by workers, demonized by designers, disowned by its very creator, it still claims the largest share of office furniture sales--$3 billion or so a year--and has outlived every "office of the future" meant to replace it. It is the Fidel Castro of office furniture.

A lot of people want to Get Rich Quick. I don't blame them. I wouldn't mind becoming independently wealthy overnight. In the meantime, however, I need a satisfying job and a reasonable income. It would be nice to get lucky but, in the end, a lot of "get rich quick" success stories seem to involve a large element of serendipity.

We have a friend whose company is merging into Oracle. He'll probably make some money out of the deal. :-) It's not quite overnight success, however. He's been at this for ten years. If he didn't already enjoy the project, I doubt he would have worked to form a company Oracle wanted.

Starting a company because you hope it will be purchased by a bigger company isn't the best business plan. Neither is inventing a toy solely in the hopes of creating the next Pet Rock, or deciding that you should be able to paint as well as Jackson Pollock, or to write as well as JK Rowling. Everybody is different. Sometimes it's luck, sometimes it's skill, sometimes, the other person just got there first. It's not enough to follow in someone else's footsteps hoping to pick up gold along the way simply because it happened to someone else.

Don't Mess With the Plants!

Dear FedEx

You have a problem. In calling to report the problem, I discovered additional problems. Please address these issues.

While we were out of the house today, a FedEx driver delivered a package. Because he was unable to hand it to us in person, he left the package on the porch and left a notice on the door. So far, so good.

However, he did not simply "leave the package on the porch". He pulled one of our jade plants forward and shoved the package behind it.